


Playing Games

by Hermaline75



Series: Five for Edith/Lucille [2]
Category: Crimson Peak (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Libraries, Nerdiness, Storms, University
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:14:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22244671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hermaline75/pseuds/Hermaline75
Summary: Lucille is only still in the library by chance when she ends up trapped by flood water with only one of the staff for company.At least she can think of a few things they can do to pass the time...
Relationships: Edith Cushing/Lucille Sharpe
Series: Five for Edith/Lucille [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1598167
Comments: 10
Kudos: 18





	Playing Games

**Author's Note:**

> The five tropes this time around are:
> 
> 1\. We Suck Less  
> 2\. Rocket Punch  
> 3\. Jumping the Shark (Don't mind if I do...)  
> 4\. Weather Report  
> 5\. Interactive Fiction

"The Met Office has issued a red warning for winds, meaning a danger to life and a high likelihood of disruption. Drivers are advised to exercise caution and most public transport across the region has stopped early. Blackouts have occurred in many areas..."

The first Lucille knew of the storm was when the lights went out, her laptop dimming slightly as the battery kicked in.

She spent a few seconds in the dark, fuming gently, before the lights flickered back on overhead.

God, what time was it?

She'd managed to claim one of the big library booths, far from the windows that might have tipped her off about the pounding rain and falling trees outside. She'd assumed her glaring and general air had put anyone who thought of joining her off, not that everyone else had looked at the weather and gone home.

She didn't dare risk the lift in case the power went out again, walking down the stairs, checking every floor for signs of life.

They couldn't have just left all the lights on. They couldn't have closed up early without some kind of checks. Surely they hadn't just left her...

There was a voice on the ground floor. American, she thought.

"Yeah, sorry, there was a little power cut for a second there. No, no, I'm fine. I mean, I think I'm stuck here for the night, but that's OK. I'll live. Anyway, talk to you later."

For the night? No, no, no...

Hurrying to the door, Lucille dared to take a look at the scene beyond.

The top step was dry, but only just, water lapping at it, the accessibility ramp up to the automatic door mostly under. It wouldn't be impossible to wade through it, but it certainly wouldn't be pleasant. The drains were probably backed up and everything. Knee high water full of God only knew what and no bus back to the right side of town? In the pouring rain? No, thank you.

She stalked back towards the voice, furious that the world would dare to inflict this indignity on her, leaning around a shelf to find a headphoned figure. Blonde. Completely oblivious to having company as she worked on her laptop.

Lucille thought she recognised her from around campus. International student. Gave off an air of being a bit... uptight, perhaps.

In fact, didn't she work in the library sometimes? That shade of lilac shirt she was wearing had university employee written all over it. No one would wear that neckline by choice, or something clearly at least a size too big.

Not that it looked bad on her, but few things could, in Lucille's honest opinion. She had one of those frames. Small, slender. Even the perfectly circular glasses perched on her nose only enhanced her features.

Seriously, though, where had she got glasses like that? Were they from last century?

It was fun to observe and not be looked back at in return.

She ducked behind a shelf to send a quick text to Thomas, even though he was probably already asleep.

_Trapped by floods in library. Home in the morning once it's receded. Night-night._

Right. Time to find out exactly whose company she'd be enjoying this evening.

She wasn't deliberately trying to startle, but that was the effect she had, waving to get attention and scaring the poor thing out of her wits.

"Oh, my God," she said, leaping to her feat. "I'm so sorry. I thought everyone had gone."

"Afraid not," Lucille said. "And it doesn't look like we'll be going anywhere any time soon either."

She caught the glint of a name badge in the light. Edith. Hmm.

"What are you planning to do for food?" she asked. "I doubt anywhere would deliver in this weather."

"Oh, I, er... I already ate, but the catering on floor four should still be operating. The self-service part."

Sandwiches and limp salad, maybe a bruised apple. Great.

"And sleeping? You surely aren't planning an all-nighter?"

"No, no. I figured I'd sleep on one of the booth benches. I have a blanket."

Lucille frowned slightly.

"You just have a blanket with you by chance?"

"Well, it gets cold in here sometimes..."

Well, weren't we resourceful? Lucille shrugged off her bag, taking the next seat.

"I suppose if I'm stuck here, I might as well do some work. You don't mind, do you?"

"Oh, er, no. Not at all."

She was definitely trying to tilt her screen away. Working on something secret? Fine.

Lucille set herself up before heading upstairs to eat, surprisingly hungry now she was thinking about it, even enough to submit herself to the indignity of paying for something pretending to be a tuna mayo sandwich on white bread from one of the rotating vending machines.

It was strange to be up here alone. It seemed to almost echo with the voices of students past. Having it empty felt a little post-apocalyptic.

Imagine being one of only two people alive and the other was Edith the librarian...

Mm. Well, it wouldn't be so bad. She was nice enough. Pretty too. And she had to be smart, working here.

Bit jumpy, though. Probably in need of something to help her relax.

And that was when Lucille got a simply wicked idea in her head.

It was ridiculous and probably impossible and yet she had such an urge to try to seduce the librarian after hours.

It would help pass the time, for one thing.

Well, the first hurdle would be establishing whether she was open to the concept of women as sexual partners. There wouldn't be much point in breaking out all her best moves if there was no reciprocal interest. And the easiest way to do that would be to looking tempting.

She binned her packaging and slipped into the ladies. She hadn't meant to end up in this situation today; she'd just have to make do with what she had.

A little hint of concealer under her eyes to brighten them, replaiting of hair just to neaten everything up, artful undoing of an extra button. Just enough. A little curve, a little hint of bare skin. Just to see what interest, if any, she could excite.

Edith was definitely trying to keep her screen from being seen when she returned, subtly turning it away.

"I'm not going to steal your research, you know," Lucille said.

"Oh. No, I know. It's not that."

"What, are you buying vibrators or something?"

"No!"

"Hey, it's OK. Orgasms are healthy."

Difficult to say how that had been received. With some embarrassment, but otherwise...

"I'm just playing a dumb game. It's nothing. It's a visual novel."

"Aren't all novels visual?"

"It's like a choose your own adventure. There's lots of different characters and how you choose to interact with them changes which ending you get. Who you end up with."

"Oh, you mean it's a dating sim."

And Edith was finally looking at her properly, her wavy hair like a mane around her head.

"You know what a dating sim is?"

"I've heard of them, yeah. Catboys and pigeons and stuff. Come on, who are you trying to get with?"

She shuffled her chair closer, honestly a little too close, almost enough for their arms to brush together.

Somehow it wasn't what she expected.

"You're dating robots?"

"They're mechs," Edith said. "There are people in them. Hang on, if I go back to the hub, they take their armour off..."

The usual anime-looking girls if Lucille was any judge, all huge eyes and improbable hair. Pretty, of course. And very interesting that Edith would be playing a game with only female love interests.

Still, you couldn't assume anything from that. She might just like the aesthetic.

"So, who are you trying to go for?"

"Kinetika, the redhead. She's one of the last ones I still haven't seen the endings for. But she's really difficult to charm. Normally by this point you can ask them out on a date, but if I try that..."

She selected the pink dialogue option, the romantic one, the little anime girl's face turning into a snarl of offence.

"How dare you?" Lucille read out loud. "I would never."

A little animated scene showed the player character being punched in the jaw by a flying metal fist with little rockets shooting out of it, crumpling to the floor with stars swirling round their head.

Edith reloaded from her last checkpoint.

"I feel like I've tried everything," she said. "I've tried talking to her, ignoring her, asking her to all the different date locations... Nothing seems to work."

"Can you fight them? Have you tried fighting her?"

A sideways glance, a bit of confusion.

"Why would I fight the girl I like?"

"She's sparky. Maybe she likes a bit of rough and tumble. I mean, if you're going to seduce someone, you should probably try to show interest in what they like."

Edith didn't seem sure, but she tried clicking on "challenge", taking their character into a sort of sparring arena.

It was less involved than Lucille expected, a fairly scripted encounter. If you had better stats, you won.

Except...

"It's giving me the option to let her win," Edith said. "I've never seen that before. Should I do it?"

"It's your game. You can always reload."

She set her jaw rather firmly, a strong sense of determination, clicking decisively.

The fight ended with Kinetika blushing with those little pink lines over her face.

"I didn't realise we were so well-suited," Lucille read. "Maybe I would like to go out with you after all."

Edith pulled a notebook out of her bag, scrawling something down.

"Getting dating tips?"

"No, no. I, er... I write guides in my spare time. I run a...Well, not a gaming blog, but kind of a gaming blog. Not seriously or anything, just... noting down what you need to do for all the different endings with all the different characters. Here, I'll show you."

It was a perfectly fine website, if a little self-deprecating. _Not the biggest or best but maybe the clearest walk-through site dedicated to dating sims._ Talk about faint praise...

"OK," Lucille said, trying to smile encouragingly. "Well, let's keep going, then."

Somehow, two or three hours later, they were still playing, trying out all the different options, getting all the endings from bad - where Kinetika left the player character for being insufficiently dedicated the whatever their cause was - all the way through to the best ending where their mechs joined forces and became the very best at... whatever it was. Edith did try to explain, but it was really rather complicated.

All the same, the whole thing was rather PG for Lucille's tastes.

"Can't believe we didn't get to sleep with the robot lady."

"It's not that kind of game," Edith said, highlighting her notes. "It's... romantic, not erotic. Not everyone likes that kind of thing."

Hmm.

"Do you?"

"What?"

"Do you like that kind of thing?"

A shrug, trying to seem cool.

"Sometimes. It depends. Sometimes the vibe just isn't right and it gets a bit icky."

Should she try to be subtle or be blatently obvious, Lucille wondered.

Well, she didn't exactly have all night necessarily...

"I meant do you like sex in general?"

Edith blinked at her, eyebrows high with surprise.

"That's a bit of a personal question. I mean, I guess so. Why? Are you hitting on me?"

Trying to call her bluff, it seemed.

"What if I am? Two girls, all alone in the library after hours, only one blanket..."

She'd leant close, but she wasn't trying to touch or anything. Not yet. She watched as Edith swallowed, looking away.

"That kind of thing doesn't happen in real life," she said.

"Who says? I mean, unless there are security cameras in here or something..."

"Only at the main doors and in the canteen."

"So up in the booths, on the soft couches, where we're going to sleep anyway..."

It was difficult to tell whether this was working. Edith did seem shy, after all. Maybe she didn't do this kind of thing. Maybe she was too reserved, too proper.

"Are you teasing me?" Edith asked. "Or are you serious?"

"If you want to. If you don't want to, it's not a problem. But, well... You're very pretty."

It was almost too easy, seeing her blush, looking away.

"I don't... I mean, I've only ever done that with people I'm dating."

"Well, I won't tell if you won't."

Seeing her fight with herself, weighing her desires with her propriety, Lucille turned her chair and leant forward, brushing her cheek with her lips, just the tiniest little kiss. Just testing, not going too far, not pressing too hard.

After a moment or two, Edith was the one who took things further, turning her head to the side to bring their mouths together.

Lucille let her lead, unexpectedly greedy, striving and generous in equal measure, a sweet little sigh when Lucille laced her fingers into her hair. So responsive. But so tense with it too, like a coiled spring...

Her eyes were already so dark when Lucille pulled back, barely speaking above a breath.

"Shall we pack up and go upstairs?"

She didn't want to let things cool too much, throwing her things into her bag, even if she did have to let Edith check all the lights had switched off when they were meant to and manually flicking the ground floor ones.

All the same, she was excited as they climbed the stairs to the main library, using their phones as torches, heading towards the privacy of a booth.

Not that anyone was going to walk in on them anyway, but still.

She pulled Edith close as soon as their bags were on the floor and her glasses on the table, walking backwards until she hit the plush faux leather and could pull her into her lap.

It would be nice if she could see better, but you couldn't have everything, relying on touch and sound as she pulled off Edith's t-shirt, feeling the warmth of her bare skin.

A press of Lucille's thigh between her legs had her gasping, arching into her, and Lucille could feel her own heart racing as she unbuttoned her blouse, letting Edith touch her.

Oh, this had been a great idea...

There was just enough room on the booth couch for both of them, lying facing each other, mainly kissing, some touching. Lucille was enjoying how easily she could get gasps and sighs just from careful use of pressure.

She wasn't expecting Edith to be the one to start trying for more direct access, undoing her jeans, the sensation of her reaching into her underwear something of a shock.

She was so sure... Knew exactly what she was doing...

"I thought you didn't do this kind of thing," Lucille breathed.

"Not with people I've just met, no."

"But you're... Ooh..."

"What, just because I'm a librarian, I don't know how to do this?"

Lucille practically yelped, Edith finding her clit with ease, pressing and teasing before settling into a strong rhythm.

"Fuck," Lucille said, trying to make her mind work enough to operate buttons, to start showing a little initiative, to get things back on a more even level.

Edith jerked at her touch, keening almost, aroused and hot beneath Lucille's fingers.

"Bet I can finish you first," she said though and Lucille couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh, really? Someone's... Ah! Someone's confident."

"Oh!"

Her wrist was going to ache, going far harder and faster than she normally did, two fingers against Edith's clit, wishing she was at a better angle and could finger her too, trying so hard not to let the perfect rhythm against her own flesh push her over the edge too fast.

She didn't manage. It came on her suddenly, that rush towards pleasure, finding herself almost straining forward, letting out a loud gasp that would embarrass her at any other time.

At least Edith wasn't too far behind her, crying out, shuddering and twitching until the two of them could only lie panting at each other before remembering that kissing was nice and they could be doing more of it.

"Not fair," Lucille said, breathless. "You had a head start."

Edith tugged up her black trousers, pulling her blanket out of her bag.

"I mean, I'm happy to have a rematch in a more convenient arena," she said, feeling around on the floor for her t-shirt. "If you think you're up to it."

Any ability to be surprised had long ago left Lucille's body as they bedded down together.

"You're on."


End file.
